Boise City, ID — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Idaho·Boise City

Ada County · Boise City · population 237,963

Boise City, ID
Image: Wikipedia · Boise, Idaho
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
58
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Boise City stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $504,894
1-year +0.9%
5-yr CAGR +2.1%
vs 5-yr peak -6.1%
Population +0.2%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$505k$199k$319k$439k$559k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
38/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
81/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,756/mo$1,339$1,600$1,862202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent111123100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 24.0
Lean rent

At a 24.0 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Boise City. Owner-occupier ROI requires longer holds and the assumption that prices keep appreciating roughly at the rate of rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
55 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
48 · w22%
Distance from peak
57 · w18%
Population growth
50 · w16%
Rent YoY
75 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
85 · w10%
Long thesis

Boise City has held up across the cycle: home values at $504,894 with +2.1% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Boise City's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Boise City

Boise City is a city in Ada County, Idaho, with an estimated population of 237,963. The median home value in Boise City is $504,894 as of 2026-04, up 0.9% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.1% annual growth (-6.1% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Boise City average $1,756 per month, up 4.5% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 58 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: Boise City has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Boise City (Wikipedia)

Boise is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County. The population of the city was 235,685 at the 2020 census. The Boise metropolitan area, located in the Treasure Valley, includes five counties of Idaho with an estimated population of 846,000, the most populous metropolitan area in Idaho and 74th-most populous in the United States.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorLauren McLean (D)
Area85.00 sq mi
Elevation2704 population_footnotes = ft
Incorporated1863
NicknameThe City of Trees
MottoEnergy Peril Success
Density2860.54/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Boise City(Major attractions)

  • Capitol in July
  • Boise River Greenbelt
  • Zoo Boise
  • Aquarium of Boise
  • Bogus Basin
  • Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial
  • World Center for Birds of Prey
  • Sunset
  • Caldwell
  • John Muir

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Ada County right now.

NWS active alerts (ID)Idaho Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Ada County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Boise City

Idaho Falls, ID62 · RisingEagle, ID62 · RisingCoeur d'Alene, ID73 · RisingNampa, ID62 · Rising

Run the numbers for Boise City

ToolCan I afford Boise City?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Boise City rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Boise City to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolBoise City cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
36° / 21°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
87° / 55°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
207
~57% of year
Annual precip
19″ rain
26″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
Moderate
Flood
Low

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Boise City listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Boise City area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
60%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$70,200
Idaho state median
Top industries (state-level)
Tech (Boise)AgricultureManufacturing

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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